How are smartphones changing the way we watch TV?

A KFOX14 viewer complained about not being able to sign up for the cable TV service he wanted.

As I explained in an earlier “Just Ask John,” it came down to the fact that the cable provider in question, Xfinity, is not currently interested in doing business in El Paso.

But in pursuing that story, I learned just how much the TV business has changed over the last decade.

For example, the city of El Paso once had a commission that regulated the one cable company that operated here, Time Warner. But that commission went out of business 10 years ago and Time Warner, now known as Spectrum, is no longer a monopoly. Several other telecommunication and satellite companies now compete for your business.

Even the way we watch TV has changed greatly in recent years. Many of us now watch our favorite shows and live sports on our smartphones and tablets, not on traditional TV sets.

An analyst wrote an article for the Morning Consult website indicating that 2017 could be a breakout year for the mobile video business to further supplant traditional cable TV services. That's because the new unlimited video and data plans now being offered by just about all the major phone companies will make it easier and less expensive for you to watch what you want, when you want, on the device you want.